Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to improvements in adhesive bandages or wound dressings and particularly to bandages having a toy component that would be attractive and entertaining for children.
2. Description of Prior Art
Adhesive bandages come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are used to cover and protect wounds such as cuts, abrasions, punctures, and other forms of wounds inflicted on human tissue such as the skin of the arms, legs, hands, and other parts of the human body. Typically, an adhesive bandage comprises a flexible backing with an adhesive surface for attaching the bandage to the skin. Most, but not all, of these bandages have a patch of gauze or absorbent material disposed at the center of the adhesive surface. Such adhesive bandages are well-known and staple items in a first-aid kit or medicine cabinet.
In recent years, several bandage manufacturers have attempted to make bandages more attractive and entertaining, particularly to children, by the addition of colorful designs and imprinted animals and cartoon characters. Other bandages have come in fun shapes such as hearts or kissing lips. All of these bandages, though, have remained two-dimensional. These flat representations do not engage a child""s imagination as readily as a three-dimensional toy representation of the character, animal, or object.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,338 to Lemelson (1981) describes a protective cover for a bandage and includes a raised rigid plastic shell. As one of its embodiments, the shell is a head. However, a hard cover for a bandage may not be suitable for children. Since it is hard and non-planar, it is also likely to catch on objects such as chairs and tables and prematurely fall off of the child.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,296 to Schaar (1980) describes a bandage with a raised protective member made of foam material. This bandage is designed only for protection and does not specify any playful figure shapes that would be entertaining for a child.
What is needed is a bandage suitable for children which includes a toy or other play shape that will capture a child""s attention and enable the child""s imagination to turn the distressing fact of an injury into a more positive experience.
It is well known that children can become quite engaged with soft or plush figure toys such as teddy bears or beanbag animals. Accordingly, several objects, features and advantages of the present invention are:
(a) To provide a more attractive and entertaining adhesive bandage for children by incorporating a soft, three-dimensional toy.
(b) To provide an adhesive bandage that children are more likely to want to place over their wounds and keep over their wounds so as to speed the healing process.
(c) To provide an adhesive bandage that will make children more aware of their bandage so as to keep it from getting wet or dirty.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a further reading of the following summary, description, drawings and claims.
The invention comprises an adhesive bandage that incorporates at least one soft, three-dimensional toy, such as an animal, cartoon character, or the like. As used herein the term xe2x80x9ctoyxe2x80x9d is intended to mean a play shape of the type that can capture a child""s attention and provide a positive play experience. Thus, the invention will be more than a medical patch to protect a wound. It will also have a distinct toy element intended for play and amusement.
The toy can be a figure or plurality of figures generally made of soft materials similar to those of stuffed or bean-bag animals, or may be made of other soft materials, without a shell-and-stuffing configuration, such as squeezeable foam, yarn, bunched-up material (e.g., felt, wool, socks, cheesecloth and the like), pom-poms, padding, cotton, etc. Upon application of the bandage, the toy is raised relative to the skin surface, thereby providing a three-dimensional effect.